Continuing the drive home had been relatively uneventful for the most part. Sam sat, her body turned toward the window, as she concentrated on the hundreds of dashed white lines on the road. Without paying attention, she could tell when Danny sped up by how the lines slowly morphed into one long continuous line. Danny seemed lost in his own thoughts and Sam was silently praying that it wasn't because of the newly revealed wedding date.
It was rather soon, wasn't it? It was a completely different thing to get married as opposed to waking up married; she wouldn't blame him if he backed out. Being completely honest, part of her sincerely wanted to back out. Not because she didn't like Danny…well, not that she liked Danny, but she cared for Danny…but not like that but…Sam sighed in mild frustration and pretended that she didn't notice Danny glance over at her.
Weddings…marriage…it all made her just a little uneasy. She'd escaped an arranged marriage…to fall right into another. The question was who exactly had done the arranging here?
"If you've got ghosts, who do you trust the most…" Lynne sang enthusiastically.
If Sam hadn't been so consumed with her thoughts, she would have reached back and smacked her, birthday or not. Luckily, more for Lynne's sake than her own, Danny didn't seem to be much of a fan of the song either.
"Lynne, please…" Danny practically begged.
Just hearing the song forced his forehead to crease and Sam could obviously understand why. As much as she loved the Fentons, the song was grating. That and the fact that it reminded her of Paulina and all that was Paulina just made her feel ill. Speaking of Paulina…
Lynne shrugged apologetically before she turned back to the book that she'd apparently brought with her. Though Sam was suspicious, she focused on what she'd deemed the task at hand.
"So is it true or is Mom just using every battle tactic she can think of?" she asked, watching Lynne in the mirror.
Danny glanced at Lynne in the rearview mirror but said nothing and continued driving. Merging into the right lane, he prepared to take them off of the parkway and back to the mansion. He'd probably never get over the fact that he was able to say "back to the mansion" so casually, but he was adjusting. He made his way behind a silver Corolla and followed the lane to a normal street.
Lynne caught Danny's glance before staring at the passenger seat in front of her. "Is that like…code for something? Did you put a hit on Mom?"
Sam stopped mid eye-roll as she realized that the idea wasn't as ludicrous as it sounded. It was illegal, yes, but not so farfetched.
"No, I didn't put a hit on Mom." She answered, swatting at Danny after the muttered, "Yet." came from the driver's seat.
"I was referring to her claim that Princess Paulina wouldn't be taking in charge this time."
Lynne shrugged, this time in confusion. "I mean, I heard her say it too and I haven't seen Paulina around, but I don't know. She could always change her mind, too." She reminded her older sister.
Sam frowned and sat still in thought until a ringtone from her phone rang loudly, interrupting the quiet that had developed in the car. Danny raised an eyebrow at her and she remarked, "It's Jazz."
"You have a Ke$ha ringtone for my sister?...You have a Ke$ha ringtone?" Danny asked, switching his left blinker off.
"Yes and I also have a phone call from your sister—Hello?" Sam picked up the phone and her eyebrows instantly furrowed. "Wait…what? Jazz, slow down. I can barely understand you."
Danny tossed her an incredibly worried look and looked ready to pull over and turn the car off. Behind him, Lynne sat in oblivion, still looking through the large book that she had somehow gotten into the car without anyone noticing. Seeing Danny's face, Sam shook her head and held a finger up to him before laughing into the phone.
"Are you serious?...Well, it can't be that bad…" She shook her finger at Danny before nodding for him to continue on. As soon as the light turned green, he did so.
"Well, you should be used to it by now…yeah, he's right here. He's driving. I'll put you on speaker, hold on." Sam pulled her Blackberry away from her face and pushed a button on the side of her phone.
"Did you do it?" Jazz's voice erupted from the phone.
"Yeah, he can hear you. Lynne's here too." Sam answered just as soon as Lynne loudly announced herself.
"Right. Well as I was saying, since there seems to be a shortage of Fentons around today, Tucker has taken it upon himself to elect me as the one to keep him company all day. All day!" Jazz exclaimed.
Danny and Sam laughed. "Like I said, you should be used to it. From what I hear, Tucker's over your parents' house nearly every day." Sam replied.
They could hear Jazz's exasperation through the phone as she cried, "But that's the point! I'm not at my parents' house! I'm at my house. Tucker's never been to my house…well not without Danny…and obviously Danny isn't here!"
Danny gave a slight snort under his breath. "Obviously." He mimicked his sister. Sam could imagine the look Jazz would be giving him had she not been on the other end of the phone.
"The point is since both of you have left me high and dry—and yes, I do mean both of you—I'm stuck as the replacement Fenton!" Jazz practically whimpered.
Danny laughed as he pulled Betsy into the Mansons' long driveway for the second time that day. "You really shouldn't have such a low opinion of yourself, sis." He grinned.
Jazz sputtered something before a doorbell was heard in the background, causing her to mutter, "Crap. Gotta go. You both owe me. Big."
Sam waited for silence on the other end before she looked at her screen to confirm that Jazz had indeed hung up. She went to unbuckle her seatbelt when she noticed Lynne already sprinting from the car. Danny raised an eyebrow, so she explained, "Fi's here."
"How can you tell?" Danny asked.
"Well, it's her birthday and she wouldn't be running to my mother…"
Sam prepared to get out of the car when something caught her eye in the mirror. She turned in the passenger seat to see the red leather bound book sitting in the backseat.
"Is that Lynne's?" Danny asked. Sam nodded and reached backward to get it. She felt her shirt ride up and attempted to pull it down with one hand as she continued to reach for her sister's mysterious book. Book in hand, Sam fixed herself to see Danny looking out of the window, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Way to be repulsive, Manson…" she muttered under her breath.
Danny turned to her with a look of confusion and she flashed him a brief smile before getting out of the car. Danny, still with what Sam hated herself for admitting was an adorably confused look on his face, followed her to the front door. Holding the book in her left hand, Sam pushed the door open with her right. She quickly took two steps back to avoid smashing into Fi, who was in the process of leading Lynne out of the door. Before she could inquire as to why they were in such a rush, Lynne swiftly reached around her best friend to snatch the book away from her sister.
"Did you peek?" She demanded, flipping rapidly through the pages.
Sam's eyes narrowed suspiciously. She moved the two of them aside so that she and Danny could enter before saying, "No…why?"
Fi smiled brightly and looked between Danny and Sam with a look in her eyes that made Sam slightly nervous, though she wouldn't admit it. Lynne and Fi shared a look that forced Danny to cough uncomfortably.
"Lynne…what's in the book?" Sam asked sternly.
Lynne batted her eyelashes and remarked, "You'll find out…soon enough."
"Or now." Danny said. He reached around both Sam and Fi so quickly that neither of them felt they'd had time to blink. Lynne stood there, practically astonished as she stared at the book in Danny's hands that was, just moments ago, in her own. Sam turned to stand beside Danny as he opened the book. Danny looked up at Lynne and Fi who had chosen to all but cower in the corner.
She watched as Danny flipped through one or two blank pages before her eyes were met with an image of…herself. Confused, she turned the next page herself to see a photo of Danny, and then various photographs together at the dinner. Adam was in the background of one looking incredibly smug, and in another looking as if he'd just been winded. It was obvious which one was post-pain infliction. She looked toward her sister and the girl who was over her parents' house enough that she should have been called her sister, and found all that would come out was, "What?"
Surprisingly, or perhaps not, it was Fi who spoke up happily. "It's your wedding album!"
"It's our what?" Danny and Sam asked in unison. Sam got a slight chill from the awkward connection.
"Your wedding album, sister dear." Lynne continued. "You didn't have one, so Fi here took it upon herself to scrapbook the magic."
Sam paused. She opened her mouth and then closed it. She looked at Danny, then Lynne, and finally Fi. She then decided it would be best if she said nothing and just rubbed her temple as she closed the book, leaving it in Danny's hands, and made her way up the staircase.
"Where you going?" Either Lynne or Fi called after her.
"This is stalking." She finally replied. She was too far away to distinguish their voices…or maybe it was because the "magic" had drained the little energy she had left. She had just reached her bedroom door when she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She answered it, far too tired and consumed with the question of when she'd turned her ringer off to see who it was. …How many times was she going to make this mistake?...And how many times was it going to be—
"Paulina. It wasn't my decision. When is anything wedding related ever my decision? I—" Sensing that the Latina was not going to let her finish her sentence anytime soon, she hung up. One never did tire of hanging up on Paulina, you know.
Throwing herself upon her childhood bed, Sam couldn't remember the last thing she thought of as she drifted off to sleep.
Giggling…obnoxious giggling. It sounded like some kind of teenage girl chorus where there was nothing but giddy little…giggles. Sam opened both of her eyes to see an unfamiliar blonde girl standing over her. Sam's eyes immediately shot to the three very tiny black butterflies she had tattooed above her left, perfectly penciled eyebrow.
"Hey, her sis is awake. Someone go tell her boyfriend." The girl said, still uncomfortably close to her face. She had a gruff voice, and she smelled like cigarettes…and something alcoholic. Sam sat up slowly as to not accidentally smack faces with the girl, and hoped she would move away. She did, though slower than Sam would have preferred.
"It's her husband." A voice that sounded like Fi's said matter-of-factly.
"Lucky girl." The girl who she hoped was Lynne's age said.
"Mhm."
"My mom's magazine said newlyweds do it...like...a lot."
"He looks like your brother, Jenna."
"Shut…up. Gross times ten trillion. He's way hotter than my brother." Jenna, who was still a little too close to Sam than she was comfortable with, suddenly seemed much more like a teenage girl. She felt a little guilty for almost judging her. Maybe her mother was a crazy alcoholic too.
Sam looked around her old room to see it full of at least fifteen girls. She blinked over and over, somehow willing this to be an illusion. For some reason, she had stupidly allowed herself to believe that her "few friends" and Lynne's definition of a "few friends" was the same. It was just the same as her mother's definition, now that she thought about it.
"Where's Danny?" she asked, knowing that at least one of the many strangers would have to know the answer. Taking the time to actually look at them, Sam noticed that they were all in matching purple and neon green t-shirts with "Team Lynne" splashed across the front in a paint splattered font. Raising an eyebrow, she made her way to the door as someone answered, "Downstairs with the guys."
The guys? Okay…so there were guys…and they were downstairs with Danny. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Danny protecting the virtue of a bunch of girls he'd never met, besides Fi and Lynne. As soon as she'd reached Danny, who was closer to the door than to the four or five guys down there in blue and neon green versions of the same t-shirts, there was a bright flash. Everyone turned to the stairs where Fi stood near the bottom, smiling and proudly waving her phone which was currently displaying her camera.
"Albummmm." She sang. Sam could have killed her. Instead she asked, "Where's Lynne?"
"Upstairs somewhere." Came her adopted sister's answer. She took the unspoken hint and ran off to find her, but not before flashing a dazzling smile to one of the two blonde boys downstairs. He grinned back, before looking over at Danny and taking on a stoic expression. Sam fought off a laugh at the threatening speech Danny must've given in her absence.
"I was just about to come and get you. The driver said it should be another fifteen minutes before he's ready." Danny told her, eyeing the group of guys behind her. The dull chatter behind her quieted, making her curious enough to turn around with a raised eyebrow. None of them would meet her gaze, except for a brave brunette boy with beautiful green eyes. He smiled at her and Sam politely smiled back before he took on the same eyes-to-the-ground position as the other four.
She turned around to Danny and murmured, "They're teenage boys, not dangerous criminals." Danny stood with his arms folded and looked away from her as if to say that his position on the matter could not be changed.
"Fine. What are we taking them in anyway, a tour bus?" Sam joked. She was only half kidding though, and wouldn't be very surprised if a double decker bus was parked in front of the door. Upon opening it however, she was greeted with the sight of a large white stretch limousine and her father's black Lexus. She turned back to Danny quizzically and he shrugged.
"Your dad came around about twenty minutes ago. He said the limo was for Lynne and her friends, and you and I would be following them in his car. He didn't seem to need it though since he drove off in some other car. I'm guessing that was another one of his?" Danny asked. It wasn't really a question since they both knew the answer.
"One of three." Sam answered.
"One of three." Danny repeated. His tone was different however, as if he were still adjusting to it all. She didn't doubt that he was.
With a sigh Sam decided to see what was keeping Lynne and Fi. She made her way up the stairs and down the long corridor. She passed her own bedroom which was still filled with underage girls and was about to turn left to make her way to her sister's room when something provoked her to turn right. Before she could stop herself or even wonder what it was that she was doing, she found herself knocking briskly on her mother's door.
One knock, then two, and Pamela opened the door. She seemed just as surprised to see Sam as Sam was to be knocking in the first place.
"Yes, Samantha?" she questioned warily. She leaned into the door and cast a shadowy gaze upon her daughter in suspicion. Sam wasn't offended because she felt that her reaction would have been exactly the same had the roles been reversed.
"I just…wanted to let you know that we're taking off soon." Sam cleared her throat. Her mother stood still for a moment before she nodded briefly.
"Very well." Pamela nodded. Sam went to walk away when she heard her name. She turned around to see her mother covering herself with her robe and barely meeting her glance.
"I tried, Samantha. I failed…but I tried." Pamela said. Her face didn't reveal it, but the crack in her voice made Sam aware of her mother's impending tears.
Sam got ready to walk away, but faltered in her steps toward her sister's bedroom. She took a deep breath and returned her mother's nod. "I know, Mother. I know."
At this, Pamela's tears came more easily and she gave a haggard sigh. "I am your mother...but she is 'Mom'. I have tried...and I have failed."
Before Sam could react, the door shut just as elusively as it had opened and Sam found herself standing alone again. She shifted her weight to the other leg while she deliberated what she should do next and processed what she had just experienced before she shook her head and brushed her fingers through her hair with a rough sigh.
She didn't even acknowledge the fact that she'd just mimicked Danny again and only when her hand happened to touch her face did she realize that she had teared up. She wiped her eyes with the knuckle of her right index finger before she rushed toward Lynne's room, anxious to get away from her mother and her melodramatic behavior. She was beginning to rub off on her.
She let herself into her sister's room to see the aforementioned and Fi huddled together near the window, their t-shirt clad backs turned to her. Sam took in her surroundings and cringed. There were clothes…everywhere. Staring at her t-shirt, Sam knew this mess could not have possibly been because she hadn't known what to wear—they were all wearing the same damn thing!
"Lynne. Let's go." She said, announcing her presence.
The two of them jumped and Lynne's eyes flitted toward the open door before she gestured for her sister to quickly come inside and close the door behind her. Sam did so, confused by her sister's unusual behavior. Lynne was weird, but this was weird even for her.
"What are you guys doing? It better not be drugs." Sam added as an afterthought. She surveyed the room to make sure.
"We're not on crack, Sam." Lynne rolled her eyes, earning her a suspicious look from her older sister, who kicked a pile of clothes aside with her foot.
"No one said anything about crack…" Sam answered coolly.
Fi rolled her eyes and shook her head rapidly. "No one's on drugs. This is so much more important than drugs. This is a matter of life and death!"
Deciding to humor them, possibly because it was her sister's birthday, but more so because she really wanted to get out of the pit that Lynne called a room, she shrugged compliantly. "Enlighten me."
"There's this girl. Her name is Shana. Shana—"
"Winford? The girl that made you two cry in the fourth grade?" Sam asked, interrupting Fi. She received a solemn nod from the both of them.
"Today's her birthday too and she took half of Lynnie's birthday guests. And now she's after her boyfriend." Fi filled in. At this, Lynne slumped to the floor and hugged her knees.
Sam took a step back. Okay…so that answered the unasked question of what 'Team Lynne' was all about. While Sam did feel a bit of gratitude for those that had shown up in support of her sister, she couldn't shake off the matter at hand.
"You have a boyfriend? And what do you mean 'half'? Seriously kid, what does 'a few friends' mean to you?" Sam exclaimed. She saw Lynne's face and softened. What was it with the other Manson women pulling her heartstrings that evening?
"Alright, so this Shana girl—who is obviously a guest stealing, ignorant skank—isn't here, right? Right. So why are you sitting here, upset like she is? She is God knows where and should not be on your mind at all. The people…the obscene amount of people…in this house are here for you. They chose you. They're wearing their t-shirts proudly and they're ready to have fun. The only thing missing is you. Don't make them wish they had chosen Shana."
Lynne leapt up and captured her sister in a bear hug. "Thanks Sammy."
Sam sighed and peeled Lynne off of her. She took three long strides toward the door before she turned and gestured for the other two to follow her out. "Thank me if we all make it through tonight alive."
She went closer to the door and tripped over a pair of jeans strewn on the floor. "For the love of God, Lynne! Is this all laundry?"
Her sister walked around her, followed by Fi. "Dirty, clean…stuff in-between."
Sam muttered something under her breath causing Lynne to call out, "Let's not talk about your dirty laundry…"
By the time they'd driven to the arena and been ushered into the VIP skybox, the sun had just begun to set. Sam was grateful that they had been given the opportunity to drive behind the kids, because she had been getting a headache just from what movement she could make out from the tinted windows. As all twenty-four teenagers, including Lynne and Fi were ushered to their seats, Sam and Danny hung back in the private lobby that led to the skybox. Sam looked through the large glass windows and over the heads of the ones she was co-chaperoning to see the hundreds of thousands of people packing themselves into the stadium. What had she gotten herself into? It seemed as though she would never cease asking that of herself. Danny seemed to be thinking the same thing…or so she initially thought.
He had that look on his face again…
She followed his gaze to see him staring down the blond boy from before, who was laughing at something with her sister. Sam smirked and said, "Easy tiger. Are you this bad with Jazz?"
Danny turned to her, softening his gaze. "Worse. And they're teenage boys." He said, as if that explained everything. It probably should have.
"Alright relax, officer. It turns out that Lynne has a boyfriend. He's apparently meeting us all here tonight." Sam said, taking a water bottle that was offered to her by a blue uniformed usher. After he left, it was only the two of them.
This barely seemed to put Danny at ease, but he didn't seem as on edge as moments before. "Well, at least that's two of you."
Sam raised an eyebrow and then laughed. "Two? As in you think those…those…man-children like me?"
Danny was not as amused. "As in I know those 'man-children' like you. I don't trust them. The girl to guy ratio here should be illegal."
"Okay, so the blond one is a little flirty. But what about that one?" Not wanting to point, she nodded at a bespectacled brunette boy who seemed to be standing furthest away from the girls. "What about him? He seems shy…and innocent. Shy and innocent."
"Innocent." Danny practically scoffed. "That's because you didn't see him looking at you like he was hungry when you went back up the stairs."
"'Like he was hungry'." Sam repeated. This was an incredibly interesting conversation to be having with him. Was he jealous?
"Yes." Danny said, quite sure of himself. He seemed far too consumed with what he was doing to realize how he was acting.
Sam's mind backtracked to earlier that day when she was convinced that he'd found her repulsive. Maybe she had read into things too much. There was a possibility that he'd just felt embarrassed…or that he hadn't even noticed at all. Was it possible that her sister's spastic tendencies were rubbing off on her? God, she hoped not.
"Aw, you're being husbandly." Sam decided to tease.
Danny nodded. "Damn straight," he turned toward the mass of teenagers not too far away. "I've got your virtue to defend and such."
Lynne escaped the mass of her friends and made her way to the pair of them. Sam was laughing under her breath at something Danny said, but she couldn't be bothered to ask what was so funny. The distressed expression she wore caused the two of them to stop and stare at her.
"What's wrong, birthday girl?" Danny asked easily. The petite redhead shrugged and crossed her arms.
She stepped forward and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Her amethyst eyes stared into her sister's until Sam looked at her inquisitively. "He's running late."
Sam sighed and followed her sister's lead by stepping forward. "Boys run late. If he said he was coming and you trust him then you shouldn't worry so much. Boys run late." She repeated.
"Hey, I'm punctual." Danny argued.
"Usually, and it's probably only because people move out of the way of Monster." Sam teased, never looking away from Lynne. Lynne looked ready to say something until the music started and she whipped her head over to see her friends cheering excitedly. Any trace of negative emotion was swept from her face as she turned back to Sam.
"Now go. You dragged us here to see 'Parade Float', so go enjoy it." Sam remarked, waving her away.
"'Mayday Parade'." Lynne corrected, affronted. Sam waved her off again as if to say 'whatever'.
She turned back to Danny who was looking interestedly at the band making their way onto the stage. The melody of the song was good enough, Sam decided.
"They have a new self-titled CD out, you know." Danny informed her.
Sam looked at him in bemusement. "Really?" Danny nodded and told her that he looked them up on Google after Lynne ambushed him earlier.
Sam laughed, maybe a little harder than was necessary. She always had such a great time with Danny, which was saying something considering the predicaments they'd often found themselves in. Of course, it went without saying that said predicaments were caused by the major predicament they'd initially found themselves in. If it had to happen, which Sam couldn't even believe she was even considering, she couldn't imagine it happening without Danny.
Being with Danny felt like being in the movies…where you're not even halfway through and you're fully aware that anything and everything could take a turn for the worst, but you're far too busy enjoying where you are to care. She was fully aware that anything and everything could go wrong.
Adam could step back in at any time or Danny could change his mind. She could change her mind…but then again, you can't change your mind about something you'd never decided on in the first place. Being with Danny made her feel less like a Manson and more like 'Sam'; she felt less like an addition to her parents' legacy and more like the creator of her own. She gave a little laugh in her head. Those 'Mayday Parade' dudes knew how to set the tone for some deep thinking.
Glancing back to Danny, who was doing something on his phone as he nodded his head slightly to the music, she continued her thoughts where they'd left off. She felt…at ease with Danny. Because, yes, everything could go wrong…horribly, catastrophically wrong, but just like the movies…they had the moment they were in. Though they could be quite bothersome, she liked the idea that there were things that she didn't remember about her time with Danny. Maybe, if it did all come crashing down, she would be able to escape to a better time through the memories her mind had trapped away in their drunken haze.
She was suddenly grabbed and spun around to face Danny. He'd immediately begun leading her and she realized that the band was playing a slower song. "Wh-what?" she asked, stunned.
"Practice." Danny replied simply, spinning her gently and bringing her back to him. "We're getting married soon, you know."
Sam scoffed in amusement. "I had no idea. Practice, huh?" She tried to ignore the random flash that came a short distance away. She knew it was Fi. Danny wouldn't let her pull away though, so she continued being led in their little dance.
"Practice." He affirmed. "You don't seem ready, Manson. Looks like I'm going to have to issue a series of sneak attacks on you."
"'Sneak attacks'? What are you, a wedding ninja?" They shared a laugh and Sam thought about just how often she laughed when in the company of Danny.
"Not quite, but we've gotta prepare for the big day. This isn't our song, but it'll do." He said to her. At her look of confusion and surprise he continued with, "We have a song."
Careful not to step on his feet in distraction, she asked, "We do?"
She hoped this hadn't been something from when they were drunk. She had a horrible feeling that if it was, that it would be 'Kokomo' by the Beach Boys. She didn't know why, but she'd been singing it lately and that seemed like the only plausible reason why.
It was either that or Taylor Swift…who she hadn't been able to stomach on the radio ever since she found out that she got married with her playing in the background. She had nothing against the girl, but she just brought bad memories to the surface…bad, drunken memories.
"If you don't remember, Future Mrs. Fenton, then I'm definitely not going to remind you." He teased.
"Oh, come on." Sam laughed in response. "…Is it 'Kokomo'?"
The following two and a half hours had gone in the same way, though Sam did notice Lynne looking behind them several times throughout the night. Apparently, Prince Charming was a no-show.
They were gathering the large group in the lobby when Lynne ran up to her. She struggled to hear her over the loud chatter of everyone, and was confused until a cellphone was thrust into her face. She rubbed her cheek where the screen had smacked it.
"He's here! He's here! He was running late, and then he totally got lost, but he's here now…" she sang. Everyone seemed amused but Fi.
"It's about time. Tyler Blake is a blue-haired flake." Lynne swatted her best friend and instructed her to "play nice."
Danny shrugged. "Alright, so we'll meet this kid in," He reached over three or four heads to adjust Lynne's arm so that the screen of her phone was visible to him. "Parking lot C-6. You two can ride with us and we'll meet the limo back at your house, I guess."
Sam tried to refrain from rolling her eyes at her sister's excited squeal.
Danny pulled into the parking lot and waited for a family with two excited teenage girls to get into their dark blue sedan before he continued. The radio was on, but couldn't drown out Fi's aggravated exclamation of, "He's probably not here! Lynne, seriously." He stopped the car after pulling into a spot and turned back toward Lynne.
"We'll wait here." He assured her. She looked as though she needed to be assured.
Sam pulled her phone out of the back of her jeans and began texting Jazz. "Let's see if she survived the night." Danny leaned over to see what she was texting when there was a bright flash from Fi's camera. The rest happened faster than they could have anticipated.
Danny, who had not been expecting the bright flash from Fi's camera jumped slightly and switched the high beams on. There, not far from the car stood two figures illuminated by the bright light. Sam's eyes instantly fixated on the taller figure's blue dyed hair and the small girl in a bright orange tank top whose mouth he was currently quite interested in.
Danny shared her shocked expression as she muttered, "Please don't let that be the blue-haired flake, please don't let that be the blue-haired flake…" repeatedly.
The entire car was still as Danny turned to see Lynne, tears silently streaming down her face. "Judging by your sister's expression—" Danny murmured. Sam was out of the car before he could finish.
"Whoa, Sam. Sam. What are you doing?" Danny asked through the open window. "He's a minor!"
Sam didn't turn around as she answered, "To go be an older sister."
As incredibly annoying and irritating as her sister could be, she was still her sister. If there was one thing she was going to prove if she proved nothing else in her lifetime, it would be that you didn't mess with her family.
Before Tyler or the girl who she'd instantly recognized as Shana Winford could react to their newly discovered audience, Sam's hand had made its way to Tyler's head and her fingers were tightly gripped around several strands of his hair. She'd grabbed into his hair so deep, that her wedding band was grazing his scalp. He looked beyond terrified as Sam yanked him backward before pushing his face near the front of the car. He squinted and attempted to turn his head away from the bright light, but found that he couldn't due to Sam's firm clench. He let out a loud yell and a call for help before Sam quieted him.
"Shut up." She snapped, pulling backward again. He let out a sound of pain, satisfying her. In the car, the three of them sat, stunned. Lynne sniffled as Fi held her.
"Who the hell are you?" Tyler hollered. Sam rolled her eyes.
"I…am Samantha Manson." She could feel the boy's body stiffen and she gave a slight yank. "Yeah, 'Manson'. As in, the older sister of Lynne, who is in that car...right there. Now, if I ever see you anywhere near Lynne, if you call her, if you text her, you communicate with her in any way, shape, or form I will rip out every strand of your freaky little dye job, you got it? Now tell her happy birthday."
"H-Happy Birthday, Lynne." Tyler whimpered pathetically. Tyler had begun to cry so Sam shook her hand free of his hair. Immediately, he took off after Shana who had disappeared long before.
Danny turned the high beams off and Lynne bolted from the car and into Sam's arms. She sobbed loudly and angrily as Sam held her tightly.
"He's stupid!" She sobbed miserably. "He's a stupid jerk! He's an asshole and he's a shitty kisser and the constant dyeing was making his hair fall out!"
"I know, kiddo. I know." Sam agreed, patting her disheveled red locks.
After about another fifteen minutes, Lynne's sobs died down into smaller sniffles. Sam knew both of their shirts were probably tear and mascara stained, but she couldn't have imagined how much her heart could hurt for her baby sister.
"Sam?" Lynne finally asked. Sam looked down to see her sister's tear-streaked face. "Is it okay that it hurts?"
Sam was silent for a moment before she nodded. "Yeah, Lynne, it's okay. We Manson girls fall hard." She heard the driver side door close as Danny came toward them and quietly asked if Lynne was okay.
Sam nodded over her shoulder. "We fall so hard."
Lynne was virtually silent in the backseat on the way back home except for the occasional crying hiccup. Danny had purposely taken the longest way he knew how, and Sam had called ahead to tell her father to serve cake without Lynne. Her father had been hesitant, but relented, knowing that Sam obviously knew something that he did not. When they pulled into the winding driveway for what felt like the hundredth time that day, Sam finally got a reply message from Jazz. She blinked and read it again. She closed her eyes and re-read it when she opened them again.
'You've got to be kidding me…today cannot be this much of a nightmare…' she thought desperately.
She kept her cool up until they'd made it in the house. She ran as fast as she could to the upstairs bathroom, pretending she didn't hear anyone asking her where she was going.
"Maybe she had to pee." Fi suggested.
She made it into the bathroom and locked it. Glancing around the room, she shut the window and turned on the shower. She sat perched upon the closed toilet lid with panic on her face. She dialed the familiar number and waited to hear her voice.
"You slept with Tucker?"